The school message hoax: Press 1 to lie about your kid's absence

By
Valerie Strauss

Making the email rounds is a YouTube video of a phone message said to be from an Australian school. The woman says:

“To lie about why your child is absent, press 1.
“To make excuses for why your child did not do his homework, press 2.
“To complain about what we do, press 3.
“To swear at staff members, press 4....
“To request another teacher for the third time this year, press 8....

"If you realise this is the real world and your child must be responsible for his or her own behaviour, class work and homework, and that it’s not the teacher’s fault for your child’s lack of effort, hang up and have a nice day."

It is, of course a hoax. But after years of talking with school administrators and teachers about the often unacceptable behavior of parents, I can easily see how some of them, somewhere, could have had fun putting this together.

According to the Sunshine Coast Daily, the message is said to be on the announcement machine of Maroochydore High School in Queensland. It isn’t, of course; an Education Queensland spokeswoman is quoted as saying that the hoax is not connected to the school.